


Captain

by LegolasLovely



Category: Poldark (TV 2015), Poldark - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Fanfiction, Fluff, Old Friends, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-22 11:56:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21301658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegolasLovely/pseuds/LegolasLovely
Summary: Ross runs into an old friend at the Red Lion Inn
Relationships: Demelza Carne/Ross Poldark, Ross Poldark/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 25





	Captain

**Author's Note:**

> {Warnings: Prostitution, allusions to smut, fluff, language}

Ross admitted defeat and stepped into the Red Lion Inn to wait out the storm. In terms of weather, this summer had been worse than any other he could remember. Once the sky opened up, one couldn’t count on it closing its doors any time soon. He’d rather delay his ride back to Nampara than be assaulted by wind swept rain anyhow. And he saw he wasn’t the only one who used the Inn to escape the weather. The small, dark room he’d stepped into was packed with wet, dripping men. He himself shook the water off his hat, ordered a beer from the tender, and slipped into the other room to the left of the door for some peace. 

He was greeted by a pair of dark eyes that watched his every move. He couldn’t help the smile that grew on his lips when he saw Meg Linley sitting daintily in the corner of the room. She hadn’t come to the Inn in a long while but every time he saw that single curl of dark hair fall over her high cheek, he was brought back to the few night they’d spent together. But that had all been before. Before Demelza, before the war, even before Elizabeth. It seemed like a different lifetime altogether.

He brought the mug up to his lips to hide his smile and crossed the room to her. He sat beside her. She didn’t move a muscle. “Hello, Meg.”

“Cap’n Poldark.”

He scoffed at the name. Though she was looking straight ahead, he could see her high drawn brow lifted even higher in her entertainment. He wondered if she’d been expecting him. As if she could read his thoughts, a smirk grew on her wide lips and tilted her head to eye him.

“Comin’ down out there, eh?” she asked.

He hummed.

“Though I could do without the extra hoots from the stragglers, I am mighty glad it brought you inside. Couldn’t bear to see those curls a yers get wet and flat,” she said.

He turned from her and sipped. She’d always been able to charm him, despite his efforts, like the maturity he’d found over the years simmered away at the sight of her. “I haven’t seen you in here in years. I thought you’d moved on,” he said.

“Oh, no. Just movin’ about s’all. I always come back to where I’ve been. Except to you.” She lifted her skirt to cross her legs, and then lowered it again. Her slim, pointed elbow decorated the back of her chair and her eyes ran over his face and his clothes. “But I hear yer doin’ quite well for yerself.” The corners of her lips dropped with her voice. “I’m happy for ye, Cap’n.”

A few of her stragglers from the other room pushed into this one, called her name, and then left. Through the window, a wet, muddy brawl could be seen and heard very clearly. Curses and bellows wiggled their way through the cracks in the windows to reach the pair sitting in the now empty room, but all the while Meg’s attentions remained on Ross. Her eyes ran over his hair, his brow, cheeks, lips and neck as if she were looking for a sign that time had actually passed and the last fifteen years weren’t simply a dream. Then her fixation returned to his eyes and she hummed, making him wonder if she’d found what she was looking for.

“I have received many different kinds of looks from women over the years-”

“No doubt they were full of disappointment and displeasure,” she said.

“But none of them match the one I so often receive from you. And I’ve never seen you look at any other man this way.”

“I am honored you pay so much attention to me and my looks.”

“What is it, Meg?”

She lifted her chin with pride and peered at him out of the corner of her eye. Then her focus moved to the man waving at her through the window. She flicked her hand toward him and watched the man’s friend drag him from the window, leaving greasy streaks on the glass. “Cap’n Poldark-”

“After everything, I think you may call me Ross.”

Her lips twitched. “Cap’n Poldark, I have said how happy I am for you- for your success in your business and your beautiful little family. From what I’ve seen and heard of your wife, I hold much respect for her.” She turned her face to him and breathed out a soft laugh. “But you and I both know of my love for you. I have been in love with you since the moment we met and I will love you ‘til the day I die.” She laughed heartily now. “So, you may add me to that long list of women you must carry.”

Ross didn’t expect this from her. Lust, he could understand from her, but love he could not. Especially not love for him. But here she was, looking at him with light eyes and pink cheeks, and he swallowed down the sorrow for her that was rising in his chest.

He set his mug down and took her hand. “Why don’t you leave this place, Meg? Do better for yourself, find a husband to care for you. You’re much more educated than you let on, I know you know how to speak properly. You just showed it. You’re hiding in this-this way of living.”

“Once you live this way there’s no turning back.” She squeezed his hand and then drew hers away. “Besides, it’s not all bad. There’s a game I like to play. Once he’s paid, I like to see how much liquor I can get into a man. Then, with luck, he sleeps the entire night away and I can pretend his arms are someone else’s.”

“A cruel game.”

“Oh, but a fun game,” she said, standing. “Can I get you a drink?” He laughed at her, braced his hands on his thighs and stood. She smoothed her skirts. “No. Well. I see the rain has let up for you, so this is goodbye.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” She straightened her back and lifted her chin as if their conversation never happened. “I am leaving for London in a fortnight. They pay better there,” she laughed.

His stomach flipped as he wished he could help her. She skillfully made it seem like a normal, safe life was not what she wanted. He knew it was a lie. He took her hand. “I wish you luck,” he said.

“And I, you. Goodbye, Cap’n Poldark.”

With his free hand, he brushed the loose curl hanging in her eyes and cupped her sharp, pointed jaw. Then he kissed her. “Ross,” he said against her lips. When he pulled away, he was entertained by the fight she had trying to stop a grin from brightening her pretty features.

“Ross,” she said.

He turned and left her, weaving through the crowd in the other room around the door. Through the bustle he heard someone yell, “Meg! Lookin’ pretty! Never seen a smile like that on yer face.”

He heard her answer. “That’s ‘cause every time yer near, my urge to smile disappears, you bastard.”

Ross smirked, replaced his hat and looked forward to returning to his respected wife, beautiful little family, and successful business.


End file.
